[The following article was published by Kaiser Health News and is republished here with its permission. Kaiser Health News is a nonprofit news service covering health issues. It is an editorially independent program of the Kaiser Family Foundation, which is not affiliated with Kaiser Permanente.] Trumpeted New Medicare Advantage Benefits Will Be Hard For Seniors To […]
My mother has Medicare. Won’t that take care of the nursing home bills?
Medicare is the federal health insurance program for people who are 65 or older and certain younger people with disabilities or specific diseases. Payments by Medicare for nursing home care, if any, are only provided on a limited basis, and not for long-term needs. There are many limitations. For example, Medicare requires a qualifying in-patient […]
Medicare Annual Limits on Therapy Lifted
Last month Congress approved the federal budget agreement and it was signed by the President on February 9th. One of the provisions should help the health of the 59 million Americans who have Medicare. Under the budget agreement, annual caps are removed on the amount Medicare pays for physical, occupational or speech-language therapy. The medical […]
New Medicare Cards are Coming – be Careful
Your Medicare card is being replaced. For many seniors their red white and blue Medicare card is one of their most important possessions. The card lists your name and related Social Security Number and shows the dates you became eligible for health overage under Medicare Parts A and B. The card is your entry ticket […]
Going Home from the Hospital: The Fast Appeal
You are notified that you will be discharged from the hospital this afternoon. But you are concerned that your discharge is taking place too soon. You think you need additional in-patient care in the hospital. What can you do? Can you stop your scheduled discharge? Hospital discharges don’t always take place at the ideal time. […]
Relief from Medicare Part B Late Enrollment Penalties
Medicare to Provide Relief for Late Medicare Part B Enrollment Penalties in Certain Circumstances Many Americans who enroll in Medicare Part A mistakenly think that because they have a Marketplace Insurance plan, they do not need to enroll in Medicare Part B. Unfortunately, enrolling in Medicare Part B late can result in late-enrollment penalties. These […]
Preparing for your hospital discharge (Part 2)
This is part 2 of my series on how to prepare to go home after a hospital discharge. Click here for Part 1. Being in the hospital is tough on the patient. If you are in the hospital for a few days, you should expect that your functional abilities will decline. When you return home […]